


Smoke Point

by Nightdog_Barks



Category: House M.D.
Genre: Alternate Universe, Cooking, Friendship, M/M, Secret Relationship, Surprises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-11-05
Updated: 2009-11-05
Packaged: 2017-10-18 07:38:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/186507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nightdog_Barks/pseuds/Nightdog_Barks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You never know who's going to come knocking on your best friend's apartment door.  1,087 words.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Smoke Point

**Title:** Smoke Point  
 **Author:** [](http://nightdog-barks.livejournal.com/profile)[**nightdog_barks**](http://nightdog-barks.livejournal.com/)  
 **Characters:** House, OMC, Wilson.  
 **Rating:** A soft "R" for subject matter.  
 **Warnings:** Yes -- while there's no overt slash here, it's certainly implied.  
 **Spoilers:** Yes, for the first few episodes of Season 6.  
 **Summary:** You never know who's going to come knocking on your best friend's apartment door. 1,087 words.  
 **Disclaimer:** Don't own 'em. Never will.  
 **Author Notes:** The LJ-cut text is by the American chef [Bobby Flay](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Flay).  
 **Beta:** My intrepid First Readers, with especial thanks to [](http://deelaundry.livejournal.com/profile)[**deelaundry**](http://deelaundry.livejournal.com/) and [](http://topaz-eyes.livejournal.com/profile)[**topaz_eyes**](http://topaz-eyes.livejournal.com/).

  
 **Smoke Point**

  
It's because of the marzipan that House opens the door in the first place. He has no problem at all simply ignoring the occasional knocks on the door of Wilson's apartment, but he's going out anyway -- a quick run to Wegmans, because there's no way the corner grocery is going to have marzipan -- so he opens the door, ready to walk right by whoever's standing there trying to sell something. Instead, he finds himself stopping short, because the guy who's standing there isn't selling anything. He's holding a bottle of wine and a DVD. The guy and House stare at each other, and House takes quick note of the guy's appearance, just in case he knocks him on the head with the wine bottle and ransacks the apartment.

 _Five eleven, buzz-cut blond, blue eyes, mole on the lobe of his left ear, dark blue polo shirt with alligator, khaki pants --_

"Uh," the guy says finally, interrupting House's exercise in witness identification. "I'm sorry. I thought this was ... Dr. Wilson's residence."

"It is," House says, and watches as the guy's eyes widen just a fraction.

"Okay," the guy says. He starts to take a step back. "Okay. Obviously ... look, it's okay. I'll ... just be going. Sorry to have bothered you."

"Are those for Wilson?" House asks. "Or do you just make a habit of walking around with wine and a movie?" Now House's eyes widen. "Oh," he says. _"Oh."_ This, he _has_ to know about, and so he reaches out and takes Everything-But-A-Corsage Guy by the arm.

"Come on in," he says. "Make yourself comfortable."

"But weren't you just going out?" the guy says.

"Pffft," House says. "I can make _kirsi-martsipanikook_ any old time." He guides the guy into the living room and steers him toward the couch. "Have a seat," he says, "and tell me about yourself. Let's start with names. I'm Greg House. Who are you?"

* * *

The guy's name, it turns out, is Declan MacDermot, and he's Vice-President of Emerging Markets for Ad Astra Pharmaceuticals, global headquarters located in Chicago, Illinois. Which is where he's been meeting Wilson, whenever Wilson is in town for a conference. Except, he hastens to add, for any of the time that Wilson was with Dr. Volakis, but he's heard just recently that Dr. Volakis has passed away, killed in a terrible bus accident, and --

"And you thought you'd drop by and offer Wilson your _warmest condolences_ ," House says, and takes another sip of wine. Whatever else Declan MacDermot is, he's got good taste -- the wine's Australian, a Shiraz from the Yarra Valley that retails for about eighty dollars a bottle. He swirls the red liquid in the glass. "Nice wine," he says. "You must really want to get into -- "

"No!" MacDermot says. He's hardly touched any of his own wine. "It's not like that."

"Oh, it's always like that," House says. "Thought you'd come round, get Wilson to cry on your shoulder, score a quick ... " It's something new, applying _score_ to Wilson and a _guy_ , but what House is really interested in is how Wilson kept it a secret for so long.

"I'm not that kind of guy," MacDermot says through clenched teeth.

"We're all that kind of guy," House snaps, and MacDermot's eyes narrow.

"Yes, I can see that," he says, and glances pointedly towards the kitchen, where House's baking implements are sitting out amidst the open bags of flour and sugar and the plastic tub of bright red cherries.

"I'm not -- " House starts to say, and then shuts up because it's obvious MacDermot isn't listening to him. His shoulders have slumped and he's turning his wineglass between the palms of his hands.

"So, how long?" he says, and takes one hand away from his wineglass long enough to wave it in a gesture that vaguely takes in the entire apartment.

House takes a chance -- a chance that Wilson hasn't told MacDermot about Kutner, about the pain, about how the long, dark hours built on top of each other until they formed a wall House couldn't begin to see over. About Mayfield. He calculates the hours like a physics experiment and comes up with what he hopes is a reasonable number.

"Six months," he says, and MacDermot's eyes drop. He's deflating like a fallen souffle.

"James told me about you," he says. "How you're always there, even when he doesn't want you to be. How you're a force for good, like some kind of goddamned superhero. How you take chances to save every patient you can. How you're a maddening son of a bitch who's going to give him a heart attack before he's fifty." He looks at House but House doesn't give him anything back.

"I guess that's it, then," MacDermot says. He takes a sip of wine and sets the glass carefully on the table. "I'll just ... go now. Glad to have met you."

He doesn't wait for House to show him the door.

* * *

House sits for a long time, finishing his glass of wine, the marzipan and the cherry tart forgotten. At some point he pours the rest of MacDermot's glass into his own and takes the empty glass into the kitchen, but soon enough he finds himself sitting back down. His gaze drifts over the coffee table; the abandoned DVD catches his eye and he picks it up. On the cover, Cary Grant dashes down a surreally-crimson runway as a biplane zooms menacingly closer. It's the 50th anniversary Blu-ray edition of _North by Northwest_.

 _Hide it_ , a small voice whispers in the back of his mind. _You don't have to tell Wilson he was here._

He sets down the empty wine glass.

 _Wilson might want to leave. He might want to go to Chicago. Let's face it, Declan MacDermot's way saner than you, and he's probably never stuck a thermometer up a cop's ass or had wild hallucinated sex with his boss._

The click of a doorknob turning startles House out of his reverie, and he looks up to see Wilson standing by the opened front door.

 _But he_ is _boring. Wilson doesn't stay for boring._

Wilson looks tired, but then he always looks tired these days. There's something else in his eyes tonight, though, and it looks suspiciously like ... concern, as he takes in House's wine glass and the half-empty bottle.

"House?" he says. "Are you okay?"

What had Nolan said?

 _Just open up. Trust._

House takes a deep breath.

"Wilson," he says.

  
~ fin

 _A Few Notes:_  
House is making an Estonian cherry-marzipan tart. The recipe (and an additional picture) are [here](http://nami-nami.blogspot.com/2009/08/cherry-marzipan-tart.html) and [here](http://www.flickr.com/photos/naminami/3679366468/).  
The wine Declan brought is [this one](http://www.internationalcellar.com/r/products/173226.htm).  
House's memory of Nolan's admonition is from the [transcript of Episode 6.02](http://community.livejournal.com/clinic_duty/33247.html#cutid1) ("Broken, Part Two").  
[This](http://www.amazon.com/North-Northwest-50th-Anniversary-Blu-ray/dp/B0017HMF6W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1257365243&sr=1-1) is the DVD House is looking at.  
The Bobby Flay quote is from [BrainyQuote](http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/b/bobbyflay256644.html).


End file.
